Leeds City Council

Leeds ffi CITY COUNCIL Tom Riordan Professor PaulWiles Chief Executive Local Government Boundary 3d Floor Commission Civic Hall for England Leeds LS1 1UR 14th Floor Millbank Tower Tel: 0113247 4554 Millbank Minicom: 0113247 4000 LONDON SWl P 4QP tom. riordan@leeds. gov. uk

Our reference: Let 213ITR/NM L ?"*l 27 January 2016

Please find enclosed Leeds' council size evidence and electorate forecast information as our submission for consideration during the Electoral Review. This was agreed at a meeting of the council's Executive Board on 20 January 2015. You will note that we are asking for consideration that the current council size of 99 Members is retained. ln addition to the information enclosed, I would like to add my personal support for our submission. The regional, city and ward roles Members play are critically important and collectively the variety of roles and requirements, together with the scale of our unitary geography (twice the size of Birmingham), justify, in my opinion, the retention of all 99 Members. These roles will become even more integral given the current projections of population growth across our area. Any reduction in our council size will only reduce our effectiveness at responding to these needs, and when you consider that alongside the geographic scale and diversity of Leeds I hope you will agree that our council size should remain unchanged.

You will already be aware that the call in period for Executive Board's decision expires on 2g January and John Mulcahy will confirm whether or not the decision has been subject to call in after then. He will also provide a full electronic copy of our submission for you to use to upload to your web page.

I hope you find the information provided useful for your discussions and I look forward to receiving your "minded to" decision after your Board meeting on 23 February.

/r-r--,_ ((*-- Tom Riordan Chief Executive www.leeds.gov. uk general enquiries : 0113 222 4444 Q INVESTOR IN PEOPLE

Electoral Review of Leeds City council

Leeds’ submission on Council Size to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England

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Contents Page

Joint Statement from Group Leaders 5

Executive Summary 8

Part 1 Introduction 23

Part 2 A City of Towns and Villages 25

Areas of Distinctive Character 25 Leeds as a Visitor Destination 29 Housing 29 Population 30 Electorate Size 32 Ratio of Councillors 32 Deprivation and Health Inequalities 36 Higher Education 41 Local Elections 42 Community Leadership – the National and Local Perspective 43 Town and Parish Councils 44 Neighbourhood Forums 45

Part 3 Leeds City Council Governance Arrangements 48

Full Council 48 Council Committees and Membership 49 Committee Seats 56 Budget and Policy Framework 56 Executive Arrangements 57 Community Committees 61 Community Committee Champions 64 Scrutiny 66 Regulatory Committees 70  Plans Panels 70  Licensing 71 Young People and Engagement with the Council 74

Part 4 Elected Members 77

Ward Level 77 City Council 79 Regional 79 National/International 79 Appointments to Outside Bodies 79 Member Questionnaire 80 Executive and Shadow Members 88 Support to Members 91 Members’ Allowances 92 Member Development and Training 93

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Contents Page

Part 5 Wider Perspectives – Views from Third Parties 94

Independent Person 94 Chair of Parish Council 95 Chief Executive of a Local Charity 96 Chair of Leeds City College 97 Chief Superintendent West Yorkshire Police 99 Chair of Independent Remuneration Panel 100

Part 6 Leeds – A Growing City and a Catalyst for the Northern 102 Powerhouse – Looking towards 2030

Financial Pressures 102 Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill 104 Our Best City Ambitions 105 Employment and the Economy 105 The Local Development Framework 107 Housing Growth 110 Local Authority Housing 111 Health 112 Adult Social Care 113 Transport 113 School Places 115 Community Hubs 116 Community and Other Services 117

Part 7 Conclusions 118

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Appendices

Appendix 1 Electorate Forecasts

Appendix 2 Community Committee Annual Report 2015

Appendix 3 Scrutiny Annual Report 2015

Appendix 4i Councillor Duties

Appendix 4ii Survey to Leeds City Council Elected Members on Boundary Commission Changes 2015

Appendix 4iii Member Casework

Appendix 5 Best Council Plan 2015 – 2020

Appendix 6 Director of Public Health Annual Report 2015

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JOINT STATEMENT FROM GROUP LEADERS

We introduce this submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England on behalf of the constituents of the City of Leeds which we, and our elected colleagues, represent.

The last electoral review of the Leeds area concluded in July 2003. As part of that review the Commission considered the question of council size and at that time, four years after a move to a Leader and cabinet form of governance, the Commission was persuaded by the arguments we put forward that a council formed of 99 members from 33 wards presented the optimum sixe. In particular the Commission took account of the multiplicity and range of responsibilities and duties and members’ representational role, which place considerable demands on members.

The council also argued, and the Commission agreed, that to enable a composition of members, that reflects the diversity of society and is open to all sections of it ‘workloads must not become so excessive as to exclude people from serving as a councillors unless they are prepared to give up paid employment’.

Those arguments are stronger and even more compelling now than they were in 2003. Since that time members’ workloads have significantly increased. New responsibilities have been entrusted to local government for example for licensing and for public health and a new power of general competence has enabled greater creativity in working across traditional organisational and sector boundaries.

Additionally our new community committees with their delegated budgets, locally managed services and oversight of joined up local service delivery (through our appointed community committee champions and local thematic working groups), have significantly enhanced members’ roles and responsibilities.

As the state shrinks our approach is to get more power down to localities and local members; both from central government to the city region level and from our own city level to localities. The council’s response to these challenges has been to seize the opportunity to shape our own future.

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Building on the idea of civic enterprise, developed from the Commission for Local Government, which was conceived and led by Leeds City Council, our approach to taking control of our own destiny is captured in our vision for Leeds to be the best city in the UK.

We have three key themes which drive our work to become the best city: for Leeds to have a strong economy, to be a compassionate city and for the council to become more efficient and enterprising. Our aim is that communities will be less reliant on the state and more resilient.

This shift has considerable implications for the way in which the council makes decisions and develops strategies and for our financial and workforce planning. It requires a sound understanding of people’s needs and their demands (now and in the future) and a greater than ever level of engagement with the citizens of Leeds at a locality level.

Our structure of governance, and members’ fundamental role in that framework, are pivotal to providing strategic and community leadership on that journey. All our councillors are on the front line. All have a highly valued community leadership role.

The strength and resilience of our governance arrangements enables the functions of the council to benefit from high quality political leadership and oversight but not at the expense of locally based constituency responsibilities.

We have considered whether there is a prima facie case for change in the number of councillors elected to the authority and found no strength of argument for either an increase or decrease.

Rather we argue in this document that our existing 33 wards, with 3 members per ward, continues to accurately reflect the individual characteristics of our district and it is our conclusion, supported by all political groups and by third parties who have expressed a view, that a council size of 99 members ensures an equitable distribution of councillors across the district, allowing for effective representation of all our communities and an optimum and proportionate division of responsibilities to executive and non-executive councillors.

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It is our view that any reduction in the number of members of council would be unsustainable and inefficient and would diminish our ability to effectively undertake our statutory duties and would be to the detriment of representative democracy in the city.

Signed Signed Signed

Councillor Councillor Councillor Judith Blake Andrew Stewart Carter Golton Leader of Leader of the Leader of the Council & Opposition & Liberal Leader of the Leader of the Democrat Labour Group Conservative Group Group

Signed Signed

Councillor Councillor Robert David Finnigan Blackburn

Leader of the Leader of the MBI Group Green Group

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Leeds is a regional capital and the main economic driver for Yorkshire and the Humber. Leeds’ economic recovery is entering a considerable period of growth including the delivery of the targets set out in the Core Strategy relating to housing growth. Set against that we are faced with further reductions in our budget over the life of this Parliament requiring difficult and sensitive decisions to be taken on service provision.

The council, significantly through our 99 councillors, has a depth of understanding of people’s needs, of the challenges facing communities and of the city’s potential. Our level of engagement with the citizens of Leeds at a locality level is central to this, as is having sufficient capacity within our elected member structure to ensure that our ambitions can be delivered. In this regard Leeds’ councillors have a strong track record in facilitating the successful delivery of major and complex regeneration programmes through managing, enabling and co-ordinating work with partners and investors both in the public and private sectors.

Our structure of governance, and councillors’ fundamental role in that framework, are pivotal to providing that strategic and community leadership. All of our councillors are on the front line and take seriously their community leadership roles –particularly those expressed by the Commission for the Future of Local Government and recognised by the House of Commons Communities and Local Government report ‘Councillors on the Front Line’.

Like many authorities our form of governance is based on a strong leader and executive model with scrutiny and other committees established by full council to fulfil important regulatory and governance responsibilities.

The Leader, our executive members and those undertaking shadow roles are working full- time on their portfolio responsibilities. Similarly scrutiny commitments are significant with a broad and in-depth work programme of inquiries and leadership at a regional level for example on health matters. Our regulatory committees too have an increasing workload as the economy grows.

Maintaining the capacity of members is vitally important to the city as we respond to the challenges of diminishing financial resources, increasing pressures on our demand led services in Adult Social Care, Children’s Services and Public Health whilst also looking to take advantage of opportunities presented by our growing city and our increasing regional and national influence.

It is important though to emphasise that our city is not homogenous. It includes a number of very different communities with very different outlooks and needs. Our councillors relate to those communities in the constituencies they represent. The community representative role has increased greatly over the last two decades, as a more demanding and articulate public expects local councillors to champion the needs of their locality.

We have well developed arrangements for community governance through our community committees. These arrangements benefit from devolved responsibilities from the executive and are central to members’ roles in their localities. It is therefore important for citizens to be able to access a sufficiency of councillors to represent these very different communities and for those members to represent community interests in service design.

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Our councillors also fulfil significant leadership roles beyond the district boundary. These include the Leader of Council’s Membership of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), the chairing role of the Transport Committee (of WYCA - including national/regional role as a Member of Transport for the North), and our local councillors’ membership of committees established by the Combined Authority and other regional bodies such as the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, the Police and Crime Panel (where one of our councillors serves as chair) and the West Yorkshire Joint Services Committee.

We have as part of our submission canvassed the views and experiences of all our councillors. Members overwhelmingly state that workloads have increased in recent times and since the Boundary Commission last visited Leeds. New technologies, reductions in resources, changes in locality responsibilities and the higher profile of councillors more generally appear to be key drivers of this with those pressures showing no sign of subsiding. Appendices 4(i)-4(iii) provide a substantial body of evidence to support our case.

We have also sought the views of third parties. Those that we have spoken to and heard from are universally of the view that the role of local ward members is vital and that any reduction would be to the detriment of localities. That external view, particularly from such diverse sources, adds to and supports our conclusions and arguments to retain our existing number of councillors – the following extracts from written responses we have received further illustrate this :

Independent Person -

“With the new responsibilities for licensing and public health added to the Local Authority portfolio the role of the Councillor becomes even more important. Any reductions in the public health agenda will have an impact on the NHS and it is far more beneficial for Councillors to work ‘upstream’ in promoting prevention with the local communities rather than wait until the challenges grow and become a serious ‘downstream’ problem – maybe not so much to the Local Authority but certainly to the NHS. With the future agenda emphasising the link between Health and Social Care I would suggest that now is not the time to be reducing engagement with local communities by reducing the spread of Councillors across the Metropolitan City.

I believe that any attempt to dilute the contribution of Councillors in the Metropolitan City of Leeds will increase the financial pressures on the Council to deliver its statutory duties, particularly in the need to employ more staff to address the workload which is undertaken locally by the 99 Councillors in this City. It will also strike at the heart of democracy by taking away the voices of local people.”

Chair of Parish Council -

“Given the roles and responsibilities of all City Councillors, it would appear that the number of 99 is in no way excessive. In our own Ward, we cannot envisage how fewer Councillors could possibly undertake the amount of work that our present 3 members do. Harewood is, geographically, an enormous ward, but owe feel that all parishes within it have the same characteristics and aspirations and accordingly, Shadwell is very much part of this demographic. We would not support any boundary change that would be detrimental to this. Over the years, parishes within Harewood have worked together and established a good working partnership.

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Any reduction in Ward members would necessarily curtail the input we receive from our Ward Councillors due to time restraints. Alternatively, if they tried to maintain the same workload, this would be unsustainable.”

Charity Chief Executive -

“Within Leeds the role of Councillors has in the past decade changed beyond recognition. Councillors across the city are active advocates for their constituents, exercising voices that are unlikely to be heard. We often witness councillors using case studies identified through their case work in various meetings. Councillors are deeply engaged in the civic life of our communities often beyond the scope of the city council services.

Leeds is a very big city and many of our communities have a strong sense of identity cultural and diversity. Councillors have a critical role in the monitoring of community tensions, unmet need, aspiration and frustration. On occasion councillors have been the “turn to people” for victims of hate crime, domestic violence and antisocial behaviour.”

Chair of Leeds City College –

“Given the scale and pace of change in our city and our local communities and reductions in public sector funding, the college would actively advocate for the need for three elected members per ward in the city. The level of casework in areas of Leeds is significant and in addition to the wider responsibilities that councillors in Leeds hold...

The range and depth of elected member involvement in the endeavours of the city is quite staggering and they are passionate about and dedicated to meeting the needs of their constituents.

As a consequence of our engagement with elected members across the city in the work that we do, it’s the view of Leeds City College that Leeds City Council should retain its 99 elected members.”

Police Chief Superintendent –

“Our work at ward level is incredibly important to the model of policing that we have adopted in West Yorkshire. Sharing intelligence and tasking work across community partnerships is central to maintaining a grip of the issues in neighbourhoods and to preventing problems from escalating. The extensive knowledge of councillors of their areas and more importantly the people in the neighbourhoods and communities of their wards provides an excellent backdrop to timely and tailored interventions to tackle criminality and respond to community concerns on a range of civil and criminal issues.

The co-terminosity of the council's administrative and delivery boundaries with the three police sub divisions and the three Clinical Commissioning Groups in Leeds provides for greater coherence in governance, planning, commissioning, and delivery. It’s important to maintain these arrangements as it promotes joint working across services, provides opportunity for the leaders of these services and local councillors to know and trust each other, for them to develop strong professional relationships around issues of common interest and indeed leads to greater efficacy and impact in the wards of the city.”

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Chair of Independent Remuneration Panel –

“As the centre of the sub-region and cultural centre of the region as a whole, Leeds councillors must undertake a series of representative roles with local organisations. Within my own experience, I know how the City Councillors work with the West Yorkshire Playhouse in a range of initiatives well beyond our main artistic remit – working with young people, people with learning disabilities, older people, refugees and in areas of deprivation. We are fortunate to have four City councillors directly involved with our work. They make an invaluable contribution in tying us into the Council’s overall social and cultural strategy – and its bid to become European City of Culture.

In considering the appropriate remuneration for City councillors, I have always been conscious of the constantly increasing demands made upon them. Leeds Councillors are fully committed through their ever increasing workload. That workload has increased not only for leading members, who have to speak for the conurbation as a whole as well as the City; but also for councillors with responsibility to their increasingly demanding and very varied constituents.

I believe that a reduction in the number of councillors would be a retrograde step, which would prejudice not only the running of the Council and its leadership role in the sub-region, but also the ability of councillors to represent very different communities.”

In looking forward we have three key themes which drive our work to become the best city: for Leeds to have a strong economy and to be a compassionate city and for the council to become more efficient and enterprising. Our aim is that communities will be less reliant on the state and more resilient.

This shift has considerable implications for the way in which we make decisions, develop strategies and undertake financial and workforce planning. It requires a sound understanding of people’s needs and their demands (now and in the future) and a greater level of engagement with the citizens of Leeds. The structure of governance that we have describe in this submission, and members’ fundamental and pivotal role in that framework is vital to the strategic and community leadership for that journey

Central Government is also giving an unprecedented emphasis to the need for local planning authorities (LPAs) to have in place an up to date and sound Development Plan (‘local plan’) for their administrative area.

We successfully adopted our Core Strategy in late 2014. This provides a 16 year spatial plan for the district, and has set the overall priorities for regeneration, environmental protection and the scale and distribution of housing and economic growth. This is a major achievement for Leeds given the scale and complexity of the district and, as the Inspector commented “….given Leeds’ position in the region, geography, history, specific needs and the ambitions of the city council, comparisons with other major cities is of little relevance.

This achievement provides a strong and compelling example of the close and effective working, between officers and members. A key feature of which is the local knowledge of Ward members and their considerable insight and experience of their patch.

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A Site Allocations Plan and the Aire Valley Area Action Plan are being prepared in parallel & following on from the Core Strategy. These plans will be used as a basis to allocate land for development. This too is a major undertaking for the city council, which will necessitate close involvement with local ward and Development Plan Panel members, to help identify potential sites and options (and related issues relating to infrastructure pressures and school places).

In the table, on the pages that follow, we further summarise the council’s detailed consideration of whether there is a prima facie case for increasing or decreasing the number of councillors elected to Leeds City Council.

A council size of 99 members in our view ensures both an equitable distribution of councillors across our district, allows for essential representation of all our communities and an optimum and proportionate division of responsibilities between executive and non- executive councillors that promotes effective and convenient local government and enables us to take decisions, undertake the statutory responsibilities of the council, and provide effective community leadership and representation.

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Evaluation Commentary Conclusion re Criteria Council Size Split of 29 out of 99 councillors have either The current Executive and Executive, Deputy Executive or number of non-executive Support Executive Member councillors roles responsibilities. provides sufficient 65 out of 99 councillors are appointed flexibility to to scrutiny boards separate and 34 out of 99 councillors are appointed balance the to plans panels demands of both 15 out of 99 councillors are appointed executive and non- to the Licensing Committee executive There are 388 committee places functions allocated to councillors – 3.91 places No argument to per member. increase. New responsibilities are being To decrease would introduced for the council to appoint put at risk effective an external auditor; this will be a key and consistent role for the audit committee. local government No conclusive evidence to change, substantial evidence to remain unchanged.

Executive Due to the volume of work, executive No argument to responsibilities members with portfolios and increase. opposition leaders have assistance To decrease the with their extensive responsibilities. number of Members from the Administration are councillors would supported by deputy (x4) and support put at risk effective executive (x15) members, and and consistent opposition leaders have councillors local government who shadow executive members with No conclusive portfolio responsibilities. These roles evidence to are essential for succession planning, change, providing opportunities for members substantial to gain experience of working at the evidence to executive board level, and being vital remain in terms of continuity and the overall unchanged. stability of our governance arrangements.

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Evaluation Commentary Conclusion re Criteria Council Size Oversight and The scrutiny function in Leeds is a No argument to Scrutiny vital and integral part of our increase. governance and accountability To decrease the arrangements. Public services in the number of city support hundreds of thousands of councillors would people every day. Scrutiny helps stop put at risk effective things going wrong by working with and consistent those responsible for decision-making local government to help improve services for the No conclusive benefit of the public. evidence to Our arrangements have been change, commended by both Ofsted and the substantial Centre for Public Scrutiny. evidence to The proportion of non-executive remain councillors (74%) that participate in unchanged. scrutiny is a significant strength; bringing a breadth of experience, expertise and local knowledge. All scrutiny boards have a full programme of work each municipal year with some inquiries not being progressed due to a lack of capacity.

Regulatory Leeds’ approach to planning is very Whilst workloads Responsibilities much about delivering quality are increasing this - Planning sustainable development with strong is considered to be connections to local people. Leeds is containable within one of the largest planning authorities the present in the country and deals with 220-250 number of major schemes per year. The plans councillors. No panel arrangements were reviewed in argument to 2012 and new arrangements increase. introduced to meet the growing To decrease the demand with a city wide strategic number of plans panel being introduced along councillors would with two area panels. There is already put at risk effective substantial delegation of decision and consistent making responsibility to officers and local government the approval of the Core Strategy has No conclusive signalled the beginning of further evidence to detailed and time-consuming work for change, councillors relating to site allocations. substantial DCLG recommend that 90% of evidence to planning decisions are made by remain officers – in Leeds this figure is closer unchanged. to 96% - arguably making a case for an additional plans panel or for greater frequency of meetings.

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Evaluation Commentary Conclusion re Criteria Council Size Regulatory The council is required to take a No argument to Responsibilities variety of licensing decisions in increase. - Licensing accordance with the Licensing Act To decrease the 2003, Gambling Act 2005 and other number of miscellaneous legislation providing for councillors would the licensing of scrap metal dealers, put at risk effective sex establishments, places of and consistent marriage, hypnotism, house to house local government collections and street collections. In No conclusive addition the granting, suspension, evidence to revocation and enforcement of an change, individual hackney carriage license for substantial a vehicle, driver or operator is a evidence to council function under the Local remain Government (Miscellaneous unchanged. Provisions) Act 1976. Members of Licensing Committee are responsible for setting taxi and private hire licensing policy with the committee taking a lead role on improving safeguarding measures in taxi and private hire licensing – this involves extensive collaboration with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and other authorities across the north of England. Community Community Committees enable the No argument to Governance communities to have their distinct increase. needs taken into account in decision To decrease the making, service design and ensure number of that our strategic objectives and break councillors would through projects are rooted in the put at risk effective needs of local communities. and consistent Community committees appoint local government community committee champions to and put at risk the provide a local “lead” perspective and ability of the further facilitate local democratic council to reflect accountability. Local ward members the identities and are central to and an integral part of interests of local the council’s approach to communities neighbourhood planning and have No conclusive taken a proactive role at a local level, evidence to their local, knowledge experience and change, leadership has been vital to help drive substantial the process of plan making forward evidence to 30% of councillors (from wards with remain parish and town councils) are dual unchanged. hatted and also serve as members of parish and town councils. 15 | Page

Evaluation Commentary Conclusion re Criteria Council Size Members Work Our questionnaire responses clearly To decrease would Load show the variety of the role put at risk effective undertaken by councillors in Leeds and consistent and the work elected members do for local government constituents and on behalf of the city. Argument sustained to The time commitment is very increase. significant averaging nearly 177 hours per month. This shows councillors commit substantial amounts of time to their role and to maintaining a strong and healthy democracy in the city (with councillors doing as much as they can for their communities who rightly expect high quality democratic representation).

As our submission shows, the challenge in Leeds over the next 5 years will be significant with reducing budgets it is likely that casework will increase and instances of councillors operating on the ‘frontline’ will also likely increase. The population of the city is also expected to increase significantly with proposals to build 70,000 new homes equating an additional 150,000 new residents in the city by 2028. This will undoubtedly result in increased case work for councillors.

Therefore reduction in the number of councillors in the city would risk creating a democratic deficit and a situation where the councillor role is more than a full-time job. A consequence of this is likely to be that the number of councillors able to perform their elected role and also have a full or part time occupation also will reduce. Any reduction would also result in the average monthly time commitment per councillor increasing and risk some areas of the city under represented both in terms of casework and access to their local representative.

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Evaluation Commentary Conclusion re Criteria Council Size Identities and Leeds is a rich and varied place with a No argument to Interests of distinctive settlement hierarchy that increase. Local includes a vibrant City centre. The To decrease would Communities main urban area covers nearly a third put at risk the of the District, and includes two thirds ability of the of the total number of houses. It council to reflect includes the City centre and the built the identities and up areas surrounding it, from inner- interests of local City communities such as Beeston communities and Harehills to outer suburbs like No conclusive Horsforth and Roundhay. evidence to change, The rural parts of Leeds have a substantial variety of individual characters and evidence to identities, and include larger remain settlements such as Wetherby and unchanged. Otley, as well as several smaller towns, small villages, and other rural settlements. These outer lying settlements have their own important histories and patterns of growth which are reflected well in the existing warding arrangements.

Officer Substantial day to day decisions No argument to Delegations already delegated to Officers. increase. Little scope or appetite to further To decrease would delegate to officers. put at risk effective Greater oversight of decision making and consistent as a result of The Local Authorities local government (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings No conclusive and Access to Information) (England) evidence to Regulations 2012. change. Greater emphasis on delegation/increased influence for members of community committees. Officers currently take 96% of planning decisions under delegated authority – DCLG guidance is that such decisions should account for 90% of decisions. It is arguable that there is significant scope for increased plans panel workloads.

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Evaluation Commentary Conclusion re Criteria Council Size Ratio of We have long recognised that there is To decrease the Councillors no one size fits all formulaic approach number of to ward boundaries, community councillors would leadership, addressing inequalities put at risk effective and representing constituents. Leeds and consistent is a multi-layered dynamic mix of local government communities, a densely populated A statistical core and expansion outwards, which, argument can be unlike our many of our statistical sustained to neighbours, is contained within the increase the district boundary. number of councillors Our analysis shows the ratio of (based on councillors to residents to be 1:7741, analysis of ratio the 2nd highest in the Cipfa nearest of councillors to neighbour grouping and the ratio of geographical Councillors to area (hectare) being area when 1:557 – the 3rd largest of the same compared with comparison group. nearest neighbouring For Leeds to have equivalent ratio of authority group). councillors to area with the two nearest statistical neighbours that have recently completed a Local Government Boundary Commission Review (Sheffield and Birmingham) the number of councillors would need to rise by between 27 (to 126) and 106 (to 205).

Electoral In May 2015, the Council’s 33 wards No argument to Candidature were contested by 186 candidates. All increase. wards had a Conservative, Green, To decrease would Labour and Liberal Democrat limit the number of Candidate. This totals 132 candidates wishing nominations, or 70.97% of all to stand for nominations received. The remaining election and put at 54 nominations were from candidates risk the ability of representing Alliance for Green the council to Socialism, Left Unity, Morley Borough reflect the Independents, Official Monster Raving identities and Loony Party, Trade Unionist and interests of local Socialist Coalition, United Kingdom communities Independence Party and Yorkshire No conclusive First. No ward had fewer than 5 evidence to candidates standing for election. change Over the last 3 elections on average 79% of councillors have sought re- election of which 92% were returned. 18 | Page

Evaluation Commentary Conclusion re Criteria Council Size National and Leeds City Council plays a pivotal role No argument to Regional in the West Yorkshire Combined increase. Leadership Authority and plays a lead role in To decrease the leadership at the regional level. number of 29 councillors are appointed to councillors would significant leadership roles at a West put at risk effective Yorkshire level in additional to their and consistent Leeds City council responsibilities. local government These include the Leader of Council’s No conclusive Membership of the West Yorkshire evidence to Combined Authority, the chairing role change of the Transport Committee (of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority - including national/regional role as a Member of Transport for the North), membership of the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority and Police and Crime Panels. Equality and Leeds is a diverse city and is No argument to diversity passionate about equality. The make- increase. up of our councillors enables the To decrease the differing needs of constituents to be number of effectively represented. councillors would Within the current number of put at risk equality councillors, since 2002/3 the of representation proportion of female councillors has and be of increased by 74% (to 40 out of 99) detriment to the and the proportion of councillors from interests of local a minority ethnic background has communities increased by 150% (15/99). No conclusive Our current Lord Mayor is from the evidence to Jewish community and the Lord change. Mayor in 2006/7 was from the Asian community.

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Evaluation Commentary Conclusion re Criteria Council Size Appointments The authority makes 372 formal No argument to to Outside appointments of councillors to outside increase. bodies organisations; on average 1 councillor To decrease the to 4 formal appointments. number of In addition to this councillors have councillors would other extensive responsibilities as a put at risk effective result of their community leadership and consistent responsibilities. These have been local government detailed in Appendix 4 (i). and the ability of the council to reflect the identities of local communities. No conclusive evidence to change, substantial evidence to remain unchanged.

Population The growth of the Leeds population is To decrease the Forecast estimated to reach 860,618 by 2028 number of (based upon a custom demographic councillors would analysis utilising local housing and put at risk effective GP registration data for the Strategic and consistent Housing Market Assessment report). local government This compares relatively closely to the Potential ONS sub-national population argument to projections for a Leeds population of increase. 839,500 by 2028 (who also estimate the population to reach 877,000 by 2037). The increase in population predicated for Leeds will increase the workload for councillors. This will arise from increased planning application, licensing determinations, case work and councillor support and involvement in local bodies such as school governing bodies.

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Evaluation Commentary Conclusion re Criteria Council Size Deprivation The distribution of deprivation across No argument to Indices Leeds is varied (based upon the increase. recently released Indices of To decrease the Deprivation 2015) but generally the number of higher the concentration of population councillors would the greater the deprivation. There will put at risk effective continue to be – significant and consistent demographic change through an local government ageing population, increased birth No conclusive rate, more transient populations and evidence to changing ethnicities. Again, these put change additional pressures on public services and on members’ workloads.

Cost Reducing the number of elected No argument to members would give rise to a increase. corresponding reduction in the cost of To decrease the basic allowances (in the order of £15k number of per councillors). The cost of councillors would employing staff to undertake generate savings engagement work undertaken at a in basic community level by any members not allowances of elected has not been calculated. £45k per ward (of Our Independent Remuneration Panel three councillors). consistently recommends that Argument to allowances increase in line with decrease although headline pay increases for NJC staff. savings likely to be In recent years councillors have not offset by the taken this increase in allowances. potential need for additional staff to cover case work.

Ambition Despite the challenging financial No argument to circumstances Leeds City council is increase. committed to deliver a full range of To decrease the services to residents with the number of democratic oversight necessary to councillors would secure value for money. put at risk effective Leeds is the main catalyst for the and consistent region within the Northern local government Powerhouse. No conclusive The growth agenda for the city is set evidence to out in our Core Strategy which change includes for example a 70,000 (net) housing target, enhancements to Leeds Bradford Airport, HS2 rail link to the City.

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Evaluation Commentary Conclusion re Criteria Council Size 3rd Party Views The overwhelming view from those No argument to we spoke to and heard from was that increase. the role of local ward members is vital To decrease the and any reduction would be to the number of detriment of localities. councillors would put at risk effective and consistent local government No conclusive evidence to change

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PART 1 INTRODUCTION

1. Electoral Reviews are reviews of the electoral arrangements of local authorities which determine:  the total number of councillors to be elected to the council;  the number and boundaries of wards;  the number of councillors to be elected for each ward; and,  The name of any ward.

2. Electoral Reviews are initiated primarily to improve electoral equality. This means ensuring, so far as is reasonable, that for any principal council, the ratio of electors to councillors in each electoral ward or division, is approximately the same.

3. When the electoral variances in representation across a local authority become notable, an Electoral Review is required. The criteria for initiating a review in those circumstances are:  When more than 30% of a council’s wards/divisions having an electoral imbalance of more than 10% from the average ratio for that authority; and/or  When one or more wards/divisions with an electoral imbalance of more than 30%; and  When the imbalance is unlikely to be corrected by foreseeable changes to the electorate within a reasonable period.

4. The Commission wrote to Leeds on 10 June 2014 to advise that, on the basis of the electoral data they held for our authority, City and Hunslet Ward (the largest in the country) had an electoral variance from the average for our authority of 35.33%. As this met the criteria above the Commission advised its intention to conduct an Electoral Review.

5. Before the review commenced, the council was required to decide whether to continue to elect by thirds with a fallow year every fourth year, or to alternatively move to all-out elections every four years. The council has informed the Commission that there is cross party support for elections by thirds to continue and we re-state that decision here.

6. Another key issue which the Boundary Commission wished to have initial feedback on was the size of the council. Initial feedback from the Commission’s staff indicated that when Leeds is compared to its statistical neighbours, that analysis suggests that Leeds, following the decision to reduce the number of Birmingham City councillors by 19, now falls outside the upper limits the Commission is guided by when undertaking electoral reviews.

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7. The Boundary Commission provide guidance to local authorities to enable the strongest possible case to be put to the Commission. That guidance makes clear that the aspects that the Commission look at when making a decision on council size are:  The council’s governance and decision making  Committees and scrutiny  Councillors’ representational role

8. Within these criteria the Commission has advised that it is for each authority to provide strong evidence that the preferred number of councillors is the best fit for the Council and will enable the Council to conduct its affairs effectively. Other than this the Commission has made clear that there isn’t a hard and fast rule as to what arguments will achieve traction with them.

9. The Commission advised that, unless there was a strong and compelling case put forward by the council, there was a prospect of a potential reduction of between 3-9 councillors. We do not consider that such a simplistic assessment bears up to detailed scrutiny. In this submission we argue to retain our current number of 99 councillors across 33 wards as providing the most efficient and effective form of governance to serve our city.

10. The Council, with cross party support, has already made clear to the Commission that there is a compelling case to leave the number of councillors unchanged. This submission reinforces that case and is informed by.

 Desk based research into our current governance arrangements, informed by council yearbooks, assurance reports to our Corporate Governance and Audit Committee, and interrogation of our Democratic Services Information System.  Reports from our Independent Remuneration Panel.  The Council’s Budget and Policy Framework.  A survey of elected members asking for estimates of time commitments and methods of engagement with constituents.  Engagement with group leaders, whips, committee chairs and the Electoral Working group.  Speaking to a wide range of organisations and individuals independent from the local authority.

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PART 2 LEEDS - A CITY OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES

Overview

11. Leeds has transformed from a mainly industrial city into a regional capital with a wide economic base. As the leading financial and legal centre in the UK outside London, the city is home to some of the largest financial institutions in the country and this economic strength is widely recognised as placing Leeds in an advantageous position in helping it to recover from the current economic downturn.

12. The city has a diverse economy, with the potential to grow in a number of key sectors; attracting major investment in housing, offices, shops, transport and other facilities. Of further significance to this are Leeds’ excellent universities, higher education establishments and first-class culture and sporting venues.

13. Leeds has many strengths and great potential in achieving longer term economic prosperity, social progress and in maintaining and enhancing a quality environment. In meeting the many challenges associated with this ambition, and central to the Vision for Leeds and the Core Strategy, is the desire to ensure that the needs for job and housing growth is planned and delivered in a sustainable way. In practice this means that Leeds is a place where everyone can enjoy a good quality of life and that the form and location of development respects and enhances the unique character of local areas and meets the needs of communities.

Areas of Distinctive Character

14. The Leeds Metropolitan District covers an area of 213 square miles (551 km2) and benefits from major road, rail and air connections to neighbouring towns and cities, and to national and international networks.

15. Leeds is a rich and varied place with a distinctive settlement hierarchy that includes a vibrant city centre. The city centre provides the strategic and commercial focus to both the district and to the City Region. Over the last 10 to 15 years, the city centre has seen major changes. This has not only been demonstrated by the pace of development that has taken place but its increased economic role for jobs with 30% of Yorkshire jobs being in Leeds city centre. A major feature of this period has also been the large scale of residential development within the city centre, together with an on-going programme of regeneration and renewal of infrastructure including public spaces.

16. The main urban area covers nearly a third of the district, and includes two thirds of the total number of houses. It includes the city centre and the built up areas surrounding it, from inner-city communities such as Beeston and Harehills to outer suburbs like Horsforth and Roundhay.

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17. The rural parts of Leeds have a variety of individual characters and identities, and include larger settlements such as Wetherby and Otley, as well as several smaller towns, small villages, and other rural settlements. These outer lying settlements have their own important histories and patterns of growth, and were brought under the administrative governance of Leeds district in 1974. At this time a number of residual West Yorkshire functions (Police and Fire Services and Transportation – e.g. local buses and trains) were retained by at a county level and overseen by councillors elected for the West Yorkshire County area as a whole.

18. Originally, from 1974 the City was comprised of 32 wards. However following 1980 the warding was, following a public inquiry, increased to the 33 wards, with 3 councillors per ward that continues today. This warding number has allowed the interests and identities of local communities to be reflected and represented in the city.

Formation of the Metropolitan District in 1974 (source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Leeds)

The former county borough is shaded in grey. Other areas:

1. Municipal Borough of Morley 2. Municipal Borough of Pudsey 3. Aireborough Urban District 4. Horsforth Urban District 5. Otley Urban District 6. Garforth Urban District 7. Rothwell Urban District 8. 8a. Tadcaster Rural District (part) 9. Wetherby Rural District (part)

10. Wharfedale Rural District (part)

19. From 31st March 1986, the county arrangements, to oversee the residual functions, were abolished and those responsibilities were transferred to the individual West Yorkshire district councils who made appointments of their own councillors (on the basis of statutory provisions) to these bodies. These responsibilities being in addition to councillors’ roles and responsibilities in their respective districts.

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20. Map 1 overleaf, reproduced from our Core Strategy, identifies the settlement types and locations across the city. The main urban area of the district is formed by Leeds city centre and the surrounding communities and neighbourhoods. These form the main urban and suburban areas of the district. In addition the district has a large number of major settlements at Garforth, Guiseley, Yeadon, Rawdon, Morley, Otley, Rothwell and Wetherby in greater number (19), smaller settlements (such as Bramham, Collingham,Gildersome, Kippax and Pool-in-Wharfedale) and other villages.

21. These settlements are at the heart of Leeds and contribute significantly to the unique character and identify of our communities. They provide for weekly and day-to-day shopping and service the varied needs of our citizens close to where they live and work. Councillors, with their local knowledge, are crucial to support the vitality and viability of these settlements, as are our 10 community committees, which provide a focus for service delivery in those communities.

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Map 1 Core Strategy Settlement Network

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Leeds as a Visitor Destination

22. Leeds is an increasingly important visitor destination for both business and leisure tourism. Recent research has found the value of tourism in Leeds to be estimated at £1.25 billion, supporting 25,000 jobs (according to the Cambridge Econometric Impact Model.

23. Leeds also has a nationally recognised cultural attractions and events which have been enhanced by a new headquarters for Northern Ballet and the opening of the Leeds Arena.

24. Building on the momentum and profile gained from the successful hosting of high profile events including Tour de France Grand Départ in 2014 and British Art Show, Rugby Union World Cup and the 50th anniversary of The Leeds International Piano Competition in 2015, and hosting legs of the World Triathlon Series for three years starting in 2016. Leeds is also to bid to be the European Capital of Culture in 2023.

Housing

25. One of the biggest challenges Leeds faces is to provide enough quality and accessible homes to meet the city’s growing population, whilst protecting the quality of the environment and respecting community identity. Within this overall context the need for affordable housing and affordable warmth are key issues.

26. The adopted Core Strategy (November 2014) sets the level and rate of new housing in Leeds between 2012 and 2028. The Core Strategy and the application of national guidance (the National Planning Policy Framework) establish a need to deliver around 41,800 new homes between 2012 and 2021. 7,222 homes were completed between April 2012 and March 2015 leaving a residual of 34,578 to deliver to 2021. It is clear that house building in Leeds needs to significantly increase and a range of Government, sub- regional and local programmes are in place to help achieve this. We also have our own council led house building programme and a series of initiatives to help stimulate the delivery of housing in regeneration areas.

27. There are clear signs that the housing market in Leeds has recovered to allow a significant increase in house building and importantly there is a significant supply of land to facilitate this. As of September 2015 2,232 homes are under construction on 117 sites with a 2,500 homes yet to start on these sites. The future pipeline also looks healthy with 8,500 new homes approved across 124 sites during 2014/15 with total stock of houses with full permission now resting at 339 sites (14,000 units). Added to this are a further 5,500 homes with outline permission.

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28. We have also recently demonstrated in excess of a 5 year housing land supply and this has been upheld by the Secretary of State and the High Court. Our recently adopted Core Strategy contains a target, over the life of the plan to 2028, for a further 70,000 (net) houses to be built.

Population

29. The city’s population has grown significantly during the last 20 years, unlike many others in the UK. The growth seen in Leeds has been attributed to a number of factors, including a strong economy, buoyant markets and increased in-migration levels. Over the past decade, the city has experienced a large in-migration of economically active people looking for better quality of life.

30. The 2011 Census estimated that the population of Leeds Metropolitan District was 751,500, whilst the latest mid-year estimates for 2014 show the Leeds population at 766,399 – a growth of 2% over three years. This correlates to the average population growth since 2001 of about ½ a per cent each year (see Chart 1).

Chart 1 shows the growth between 2001 and 2014 (the latest mid-year estimate).

31. The growth of the Leeds population is estimated to reach 860,618 by 2028 (based upon a custom demographic analysis utilising local housing and GP registration data for the Strategic Housing Market Assessment report). This compares relatively closely to the ONS sub-national population projections for a Leeds population of 839,500 by 2028 (who also estimate the population to reach 877,000 by 2037).

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32. The distribution of the Leeds population across the current Wards has seen an influx into the centre and south of the city (see Map 2).

Map 2 Distribution of the Leeds population across the current Wards

33. Leeds is clearly becoming a more diverse city with over 130 nationalities and an increasing numbers of people identifying with minority ethnic groups. In 2001 the city’s black and minority ethnic (BME) population totalled 77,530 (10.8% of the resident population), but by 2011 the number had increased to 141,771 (19% of the resident population). Within Leeds, the Pakistani community is the largest “single” BME community in the city with 22,492 people (3% of the total resident population).

34. In some of wards, for example in Burmantofts and Richmond Hill, there are communities whom are not entitled to be on the electoral register (as they do not originate from EU or commonwealth countries. These residents often present complex and time consuming case work to councillors.

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Electorate Size

35. The projected population growth of Leeds has informed the Council’s Strategic Housing Market Assessment (2011 and updated in 2013) which underpins the Council’s housing requirement between 2012 and 2028. The future size of the electorate by ward has been calculated in accordance with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England guidance in “Electorate Forecasts – A Guide for Practitioners”. Appendix 1 sets out the results of district-wide and ward level forecasts of the change in electorate in the next six years.

36. These forecasts have been prepared using ONS population data from the Census and Mid-Year Estimates together with historic housing performance data and future delivery as taken from the Council’s draft Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment 2015 (SHLAA) and Publication Draft Site Allocations Plan and assumptions that Core Strategy requirements will be delivered given the land supply available. This approach is further supported by the Council’s demonstration of a deliverable five year supply of housing land in line with Government guidance and an improving housing market.

37. All wards show an increase in electorate in the next six years over and above the figure calculated from the electorate. The results of applying the pattern and timing of the Council’s planned housing developments to electoral register figures over the next 6 years show an increase in all wards totalling 43,123 additional electors. This is almost a 100% increase on ONS projected growth, which reflects the Core Strategy ambition for new housing planned in Leeds.

Ratio of Councillors

38. Leeds is a large authority at 55,172 hectares which makes it the second largest area of any English metropolitan district, 2nd only to Doncaster which has within its boundary a large part of wetland (at Thorpe Marsh) which is largely uninhabited. If this area is discounted from the Doncaster area, Leeds is by far the largest authority by area in England. Leeds is the second largest authority by population. Within this context the geography of Leeds is also of significance as the City of Leeds is not a single urban area.

39. The ratio of councillors to electors in Leeds is 1:5656, the 2nd highest in the Cipfa nearest neighbour grouping (to Birmingham) and the ratio of councillors to area (hectare) is 1:557 – the 2nd largest of the same comparison group with Leeds, of the top three, being the only city.

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40. Statistically, for Leeds to have equivalence of councillor representation per hectare with the two nearest statistical neighbours which have recently completed a Local Government Boundary Commission Review (Sheffield and Birmingham), the number of councillors would need to rise by between 271 (to 126) and 1092 (to 208).

Table 1: Population density per Councillor and Ration of Population to Councillor by Cipfa Nearest Neighbours (source: 2011 Census)

Cifpa Nearest Number of Area Electorate Density Ratio of Ratio of Neighbours (to Councillors (Hectares) (2015) (number of Hectares to Electorate Leeds) electorate Councillors to per Councillors hectare) Leeds 99 55,172 560,000 10.15 1:557 1:5656

Birmingham 101 26,779 735,000 27.44 1:265 1:7277

Bradford 90 36,642 340,003 9.27 1:407 1:3777

Sheffield 84 36,795 400,000 10.87 1:438 1:4761

Newcastle upon 78 11,344 193,000 17.01 1:145 1:2474 Tyne Dudley 72 9,796 240,000 24.49 1:136 1:3333

Kirklees 69 40,860 306,000 7.48 1:592 1:4434

Gateshead 66 14,235 196,424 13.79 1:216 1:2976

Wakefield 63 33,861 253,723 7.49 1:537 1:4027

Trafford 63 10,604 160,000 15.08 1:168 1:2539

Stockport 63 12,606 223,000 17.69 1:200 1:3539

Walsall 60 10,395 161,373 15.52 1:173 1:2689

Salford 60 9,719 170,100 17.50 1:162 1:2835

Bolton 60 13,980 191,000 13.75 1:233 1:3183

Coventry 54 9,864 230,848 32.1 1:183 1:6249

Calderdale 51 36,392 150,001 5.6 1:714 1:4066

1 Leeds area (55172)/ratio of councillors per hectare in Sheffield (438) = 126 equivalent councillors, 27 more than Leeds currently 2 Leeds area (55172)/ratio of councillors per hectare in Birmingham (265) = 208 equivalent councillors, 109 more than Leeds currently 33 | Page

41. For Leeds to have an equivalence with the same two authorities of councillor representation by elector the number of councillors would either need to be raised by 19 (to 118) when compared to Sheffield or reduced by 22 (to 77) when compared to Birmingham (which would be unsustainable and unwarranted given the breadth of councillors’ responsibilities).

42. By way for further analysis - Leeds councillors have a significantly higher area to cover per councillor (557 hectares) than the average of these councils (326 hectares) and a significantly higher number of electors per councillor (5656) than the average of the other councils (3984).

43. If the number of Leeds councillors were to be reduced then these ratios would increase as follows: for area per councillor – by between an additional 18 hectares per councillor to 575 hectares (based on a council size of 96 councillors) and 56 hectares to 613 hectares (based on a council size of 90 councillors) – 88% more than the average of our nearest neighbours.

44. For the ratio of electorate (based on existing data which is anticipated to substantially increase), the average increase per councillor would be between 177 (to 5833 electors) per councillor, based on a council size of 96 councillors, to 566 additional electors – at an average of 6222 per councillors (based on a council size of 90 councillors). This being 56% more than the average of the Cipfa nearest neighbours grouping.

45. Table 2 explores similar ratios for the Core City group of local authorities which this council feels more accurately reflects our nearest comparators.

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Table 2: 2015 Electorate density and ratios of Electorate to Councillors by Core City Group Authorities

Core Cities Group Number of Area Electorate Density Ratio of Ratio of Councillors (Hectares) (2015) (number of Hectares to Electorate persons Councillors to per Councillors hectare) Leeds 99 55,172 560,000 13.6 1:557 1:5656

Birmingham 101 26,779 735,000 40.1 1:265 1:7277

Bristol 70 10,961 320,000 39.1 1:156 1:4571

Sheffield 84 36,795 400,000 15 1:438 1:4761

Newcastle upon 78 11,344 193,000 24.7 1:145 1:2474 Tyne Liverpool 90 11,184 325,000 41.7 1:124 1:3611

Manchester 96 11,534 380,000 43.5 1:120 1:3958

Nottingham 55 7,461 195,000 41.0 1:135 1:3545

46. This analysis further supports the council’s argument that a reduction of councillors would have a significant impact on the ability of Leeds members to fulfil their roles, and would place a typical Leeds councillor at a disadvantage when compared with their peers in other authorities. Leeds already has the highest geographical area for councillors in the Core City Group at 1:557 hectares and the second highest electorate per councillor in that grouping (2nd again to Birmingham).

47. For Leeds to have the equivalent number of councillors by area and by electorate to the next smallest council by number of councillors (Manchester at 96 councillors), the number of councillors would need to increase to 459 to match geographical area ratio and by 42 to match electorate to councillor ratios. This would be plainly unwarranted and unnecessary but provides a compelling and strong case for the number of councillors to remain at 99 when compared to other similar authorities.

48. Leeds is a diverse city and is passionate about equality. The make-up of our councillors enables the differing needs of constituents to be effectively represented.

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49. Within the current number of councillors, since 2002/3 the proportion of female councillors has increased by 74% (to 40 out of 99) and the proportion of councillors from a minority ethnic background has increased by 150% (15/99). Our current Lord Mayor is from the Jewish community and the Lord Mayor in 2006/7 was from the Asian community.

50. We have long recognised that there is no one size fits all formulaic approach to ward boundaries, community leadership, addressing inequalities and representing constituents. Leeds is a multi-layered dynamic mix of communities, a densely populated core and expansion outwards, which, unlike our many of our statistical neighbours, is contained within our district boundary.

51. The current number of 99 councillors provides the necessary capacity to provide for equality of representation whilst also reflecting the identities and interests of local communities.

Deprivation and Health Inequalities

52. Whilst the health of Leeds has improved overall, the city is performing below the England average. Consequently, the need to tackle health issues and disparities across the district is a major challenge for improvement and to. Leeds meeting its objective to be a healthy and caring city for all ages.

53. Despite becoming wealthier as a city over the last 20 years, Leeds still has too many deprived areas, where there is a poor quality of life, low educational performance, too much crime and anti-social behaviour, poor housing, poor health, and families where no one has worked for a few generations. The gap in life expectancy between the most disadvantaged parts of Leeds and the rest of the district remains at around twelve years.

54. Those inequalities and challenges were recently highlighted by the recent Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) work, including for example:  20% of the Leeds population live in deprived areas, centred in the Inner East and Inner South of the city;  Educational attainment is one of the main determinants of life chances and though good progress has been made, Leeds is below the national average on some key indicators;  Housing remains a challenge in terms of affordability, quality and meeting demand;  Health inequalities continue to impact on the most vulnerable, with increased demand on related public services through growing numbers and increased complexity of needs; and

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55. Across the city and within localities there is – and will continue to be – significant demographic change through an ageing population, increased birth rate, more transient populations and changing ethnicities. The prevalence of inequalities put additional pressures on public services and has proven to be a significant feature in councillors’ workloads.

56. The distribution of deprivation across Leeds is varied (based upon the recently released Indices of Deprivation 20153) but it generally follows that deprivation is highest where the greatest population masses exist.

57. Map 3 shows the locations of the lowest performing smaller geographies across Leeds, with the dark blue the most deprived (within the worst 10% of the country).

Map 3: Distribution of the deprived geographies based on the Indices of Deprivation 2015

58. In a tabular format (see Table 3) the amount of deprived geographies across Wards becomes more apparent, with one Ward containing smaller geographies that are either in the worst 10 or 20% of the country. Overall,

3 The 2015 Index of Deprivation has been released by the Department of Local Government and Communities (DCLG) available via https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-indices-of- deprivation-2015, 37 | Page

Leeds has 105 neighbourhoods (lower super output areas or LSOAs) in the most deprived 10% nationally. This represents 22% of all Leeds LSOAs.

Table 3: Leeds Wards with number of LSOAs in the Indices of Deprivation deciles Leeds wards ‐ number of Lower Super Output Areas across the Indices of Deprivation deciles

Most deprived 10% 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Least deprived 10%

Gipton and Harehills 15 Burmantofts and Richmond Hill 14 Middleton Park 13 Killingbeck and Seacroft 10 City and Hunslet 9 Farnley and Wortley 7 Armley 6 Chapel Allerton 6 Beeston and Holbeck 6 Bramley and Stanningley 4 Temple Newsam 4 Kirkstall 2 Hyde Park and Woodhouse 2 Cross Gates and Whinmoor 2 Alwoodley 2 Weetwood 1 Moortown 1 Roundhay 1 Rothwell Morley South Guiseley and Rawdon Ardsley and Robin Hood Pudsey Headingley Adel and Wharfedale Kippax and Methley Morley North Calverley and Farsley Horsforth Otley and Yeadon Garforth and Swillington Wetherby Harewood

59. A total of 164,000 people in Leeds live in areas that are ranked amongst the most deprived 10% nationally, the corresponding figure in the 2010 Index was 150,000 people, but clearly not everyone living in these LSOAs are deprived. Leeds has 105 LSOAs in the most deprived 10% the second largest in the Cipfa nearest neighbour comparison group.

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Table 4: 2015 Indices of Deprivation - Cifpa Nearest Neighbours comparison with Population Metric

Indices of Multiple Deprivation ‐ number of LSOAs in each decile

Most deprived 10% 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Least deprived 10%

Birmingham 253

Leeds 105

Bradford 101

Sheffield 81

Salford 43

Newcastle upon Tyne 39

Bolton 36

Coventry 36

Walsall 34

Wakefield 30

Kirklees 23

Calderdale 19

Stockport 17

Dudley 16

Gateshead 15

Trafford 4

60. To address these inequalities and challenges requires all of who contribute to making Leeds the ‘best city’, including, crucially, local elected members to influence what we do and how we do it.

61. The employment domain measure measures the proportion of working age population involuntarily excluded from the labour market through unemployment, sickness, disability or caring responsibilities. In Leeds, this proportion varies from 1% in the least deprived LSOAs to 41% in the most deprived. The table below further explores this by illustrating the number of working age individuals experiencing employment deprivation.

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Table 5: 2015 Indices of Multiple Deprivation - Number of working age individuals experiencing employment deprivation - Cifpa Nearest Neighbours

Indices of Multiple Deprivation ‐ Number of working age individuals experiencing employment deprivation

Birmingham 114273 Leeds 59553 Bradford 48815 Sheffield 46227 Kirklees 33308 Wakefield 30221 Newcastle upon Tyne 26806 Coventry 26519 Walsall 25854 Bolton 25765 Dudley 25235 Salford 25033 Gateshead 19319 Stockport 18779 Calderdale 16628 Trafford 14103

62. This data reinforces our argument that the current number of councillors allows for the much needed equality of representation for constituents across the district.

63. The Commission is asked to consider the full complexity of our district by interrogating the Leeds Observatory Website - Leeds Observatory .

64. The Leeds Observatory is a 'one-stop-shop' website for information and intelligence about communities in Leeds. The website is provided as a free resource and updated & maintained by Leeds City Council. All data (unless otherwise specified) is available via the Open Government License (OGL) meaning you re-use it without any cost or restrictions.

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65. This link provided sets out detailed statistics on all our wards relating to:  Population  Leeds Housing Market  Leeds House Price Comparison  Benefits and Low Income  Crime and Safety  Education and Skills  Health

66. A thorough interrogation of the data will provide a clear picture of our city and the challenges that we face at both a district wide and ward level.

Higher Education

67. Leeds has a strong higher education sector with three Universities; the University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University and Leeds Trinity University College. The City is also home to Leeds City College, Leeds College of Art, the Leeds College of Music, and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

68. Leeds University is now the UK’s second-largest, and the third largest employer in the City with more than 30,000 students from 130 countries. It has set itself the target of being among the top 50 universities in the world by 2015.

69. A number of Colleges of Technology, Commerce, and Education came together into the Leeds Polytechnic in 1970, which in turn became Leeds Beckett University in 1992. Leeds Beckett University has another 30,000 full- time and part-time degree students, and is the City’s fourth-largest employer.

70. The large student population gives the City a real energy. Leeds has a young population especially in the areas of Headingley and Hyde Park and Woodhouse. Case work in these wards has its own unique characteristics .

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Local Elections

71. In May 2015, the Council’s 33 wards were contested by 186 candidates. All wards had a Conservative, Green, Labour and Liberal Democrat Candidate. This totals 132 nominations, or 70.97% of all nominations received. The remaining 54 nominations were from candidates representing Alliance for Green Socialism, Left Unity, Morley Borough Independents, Official Monster Raving Loony Party, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, United Kingdom Independence Party and Yorkshire First. This accounted for 29.03% of all nominations received. No ward had fewer than 5 candidates standing for election.

72. Interest in representational democracy is demonstrably strong. Table 6 below gives an indication of the number of councillors standing for re-election and being returned over the last three elections.

Table 6 Councillors at elections

Election Number of Percentage of Number of Return Rate of LCC Members LCC Councillors Councillors Seeking re- Councillors seeking re- election returned at election election

2015 28 85% 28 100%

2014 27 82% 26 96%

2012 24 73% 19 79%

73. Over the last three elections 79% of councillors have, on average, sought re- election of which 92% were returned. This equates to an average turnover rate of 26%. It is our view that the current number of 99 councillors allows for equality of representation and for the identities and interests of local communities to be reflected at the ballot box.

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Community Leadership – The National and Local Perspective

74. The Localism Act 2011 enshrined in law the role of local authorities as community leaders. It provided a general power of competence for local authorities to do anything an individual may do (subject to existing legislative limitations). Leeds has fully embraced this power and recognises that within the city locally elected members are in a unique position to act in the best interests of the communities that they represent and in such a way as to ensure the delivery of services in an efficient and innovative way that presents good value for money.

75. Most local authorities in England have responded by forming some form of local strategic partnership. The large size and complexity of Leeds militates against a one size fits all approach to local working. We have focused on a framework of local community committees which lead locality working to improve the council’s responsiveness, involving local people more closely in decision-making and developing partnership working within localities to deliver better outcomes.

76. This role of community leadership was a central theme in work undertaken by the Commission for the Future of Local Government; a joint initiative, led by Leeds City Council in partnership with Glasgow and Cardiff councils. The Commission also involved input from the voluntary sector and private sector, universities and various independent think-tanks. The outcome of the Commission was to advocate a ‘civic enterprise’ approach to local governance; in which councillors act as ‘door-openers and enablers’, moving towards a more participatory model of democracy.

“People change places and it is the civic entrepreneurs who permeate businesses, communities, councils and charities that change cities and towns for the better. There are crucial roles for councillors not only in being civic entrepreneurs but also in providing visible civic leadership to enable and support the work of others” (Commission on the Future of Local Government Executive Summary, 2012:3)

77. The notion of developing councillors as a new type of community leader is not confined to the Commission Report. The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Select Committee, ‘Councillors’ on the Front Line’ (DCLG: 2013) found that the councillors’ role was changing and becoming much more community focused. Its report also stated that

“The more community – focused role of Councillors makes it all the more important to high-performing, effective Councillors…Democracy at all levels depends on the health of its Councillors base”

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78. Leeds has fully embraced these approaches. Joint working between executive members and local ward councillors occupies a central position in community leadership, cross sector collaboration and local politics. As elected members, our councillors work alongside and in partnership with an array of local bodies, which together produce a multi layered framework of provision and responsibility for the strategic governance of the city and of development of our distinctive towns and other localities.

79. A Leeds’ councillors’ job is a 24-hour one. The immediacy of our councillors to local citizens and communities and the fact that our councillors are of those communities is a vital element of a councillors’ office.

Town and Parish Councils

80. We have a substantial number of Parish/Town Councils Parish Meetings arrangements across the district.

Aberford & District Parish Allerton Bywater Parish Alwoodley Parish Council Council Council Arthington Parish Austhorpe Parish Meeting Bardsey Cum Rigton Council Parish Council Barwick in Elmet & Boston Spa Parish Council Braham Cum Oglethorpe Scholes Parish Council Parish Council Bramhope & Carlton Clifford Parish Council Collingham with Linton Parish Council Parish Council Drighlington Parish East Keswick Parish Gildersome Parish Council Council Council Great & Little Preston Harewood Parish Council Horsforth Town Council Parish Council Kippax Parish Council Ledsham Parish Council Mickefield Parish Council Morley Town Council Otley Town Council Pool Parish Council Rawdon Parish Council Scarcroft Parish Council Shadwell Parish Council Swillington Parish Thorner Parish Council Thorp Arch Parish Council Council Walton Parish Council Wetherby Town Council Wothersome Parish Meeting

81. The LCC wards that have Parish/Town Councils are:

 Adel & Wharfedale  Kippax & Methley  Alwoodley  Morley North  Garforth & Swillington  Morley South  Guiseley & Rawdon  Otley & Yeadon  Harewood  Wetherby  Horsforth

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82. 94 of our 373 polling districts (25.2%) are part of a parish/town council and 30% of our councillors (from wards with parish and town councils) also serve as a parish or town councillors. This is a significant additional time commitment for these members and is vital to ensure effective links between the city council and the parish and town council tier of governance in the district.

Neighbourhood Forums

83. As a basis to promote a ‘bottom up’ approach to planning, the 2011 Localism Act introduced the commitment to the preparation of Neighbourhood Plan. Supported by detailed guidance, this provides the framework for the preparation of Neighbourhood Plans by designated Neighbourhood Forums and for these plans to be subject to a local referendum. Once approved, these plans will form part of the statutory Development Plan.

84. In reflecting the local distinctiveness of Leeds, there has been a high level of take up of the Neighbourhood Plans process (see table 7 below).

TABLE 7 NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING JUNE 2015 Outer North West Area Committee